Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: thirstiness, dryness, parched, craving, strong desire, longing, yearning, avidity, hunger, voracity, keenness, eagerness, lust, appetite, passion, love, crave, want, covet, desire, hunger for/after, lust for/after, hanker for/after, have one's heart set on

Antonyms: aversion, distaste, apathy, dislike, hatred, antipathy, disgust, disregard, abhorrence, acrimony, wet, animosity, animus, antagonism, bad feeling, bitterness, be averse to, detestation

Showing 2726 to 2750 of 5000 results

2726. Living the FIRE Life

John 17:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... ways. Ways that are “so fire!” We will recognize the unity of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, not in a theological, rational way, but in a very experiential, relational, spiritual way. Any of you who have been married a very long time know that to “know” things about a person is not the same as to “know” a person. That personal, intimate knowledge of someone –his or her nature and being, energy and personality, heart and soul –that is a different kind of knowing. A connective ...

2727. When Everything That Matters Has Been Torn Away

Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... pain causes us to turn away from God, we also lose the ultimate foundation for our identity and purpose and security. How do we regain our sense of identity? Sir Mo Farah is an Olympic track star from the United Kingdom. He has won four Olympic titles in long-distance running, and six world titles. He only revealed a few years ago that he was also kidnapped from his home in Somalia and brought to the UK when he was nine years old. When civil war broke out in his town of Somaliland, Farah’s widowed mother ...

2728. A Little Bit of Honey

Matthew 10:40-42

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... way. Who doesn’t love honey! It’s smooth, it’s sweet, and so, so good. The unlikely source? Bees! Furry little insects that swarm and sting. And yet, they make the sweetest nectar imaginable. For a long while, humans persecuted bees. We swatted them, sprayed them, wanted to eliminate them from our lives. They felt like unwanted pests. Now, we realize the harm we have put these insect communities through and the good they do within the eco-system of the world, not to mention the sweetness ...

2729. Let's Get Together

Acts 2:1-21 · Genesis 11:1-11

Sermon

Will Willimon

... in common. For when you're feeling lonely, fragmented and isolated (as many are feeling today), you're apt to take what community you can get. More than one shaky government has been saved by a little war at the right time. My, how we long for community, somewhere there are people like us. I have known lonely adolescents who were so desperate for friends, any friends, that they became involved in drugs just to have something in common with someone else. So now they're part of the ''drug community.'' The ...

2730. Rest

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Sermon

William G. Carter

... ,” or as they say in the South, “y’all.” There’s not a single person excluded. Everybody come, come and rest. What intrigues me is why so many people turn him down. Have you ever noticed that? As a kid, I learned from my father how to put in a long day’s work. At his desk by eight every morning, home for supper by six, then he would change his clothes and go outside for a few more hours of labor. Dad came from a family of farmers. They didn’t sit very much, unless Grandpa was riding the red ...

2731. A Violent Week

Mark 14:1-2 · Luke 22:14-23:56

Sermon

Will Willimon

... warheads are pointed in our direction. All this could be obliterated in a nuclear moment. We don't think about that much. We can't think about it much. Robert J. Lifton named it "nuclear numbness." If you're exposed to violence or the threat of it for very long, eventually a kind of numbness sets in. I suppose it can be explained as a kind of psychic defense against the unthinkable. I wonder if a similar mechanism is at work in us as we read the gospel accounts of Holy Week. I know this is not the first ...

2732. The New Family

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

Will Willimon

... the government; after all, I see no way for the government to work justice other than with legalistic means such as ethnic, gender quotas. But in the church, I argued, we shouldn't need, in the church, quotas to force us to do right. I received a long letter from a person in Kansas. She thanked me for my article, then she took me to task. At eighteen, she felt called by God to the Christian ministry. She wanted to be a minister to small congregations in rural Kansas. She began, even at eighteen, to prepare ...

2733. The Gracious Dream

Genesis 28:10-17

Sermon

Will Willimon

... grandest of dreams are only wishes cast large. Walt Disney's "Cinderella" said it as well as Robert Kennedy, "A dream is what your heart wishes...when you are fast asleep." And if that be so, then even our best dreams are only projections of our best wishes, still the longing of ourselves as we are, as we are at our best, to be sure, but still just as we are. We can only hope to achieve such dreams, not to be transformed by them. So that's why I want you to note, in this story, there are angels descending ...

2734. Seize the Now

Philippians 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... urge you to focus on the now, on Jesus’ presence with us and in us now, and on his promise to return for us someday. 1. “Where would you eat if you didn’t have long to live?” by Jay Rayner, The Guardian August 15, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/aug/15/where-would-you-eat-if-you-didnt-have-long-to-live? 2. “Fed by grit and the Prayer Book” by Sarah Meyrick, Churchtimes.co.uk, November 23, 2017. https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2017/24-november/features/features/fed-by-grit-and ...

2735. Imperfect Pastors

Exodus 32:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... the Ten Commandments, Moses went back up on the mountain to receive more of God’s Law for the people. And in this absence of leadership, the people got restless and took matters into their own hands. Our passage reads, “When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, ‘Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’” And that brings me to ...

2736. God's Plan for a New Year

Galatians 4:4-7

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... life that came with the dawn of 1863, celebrating the freedom we have in Christ. (4) There is an old legend concerning the shepherds who were present the night the angel announced to a group of shepherds on a hillside watching over their flocks that the long-awaited Messiah had been born. This was several years after this wondrous event and some of the older shepherds were trying to remember how the song that the angels sang went. As they sat on the hillside under the stars at night keeping watch over their ...

2737. The Subject Is Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Steve Molin

... of God are called to do exactly that, because we know the value of mercy. I wonder if there are some in our midst today who have shut people out of their lives because they could not let it go? The hurt is too deep, it’s gone on too long, and you cannot forgive. Logic is on your side. You probably have every right to hold your grudge. But the sad truth is that your unforgiveness doesn’t hurt them; but it holds you captive to bitterness and misery. Logic might be on your side, but forgiveness is your ...

2738. Embarrassing Visits

John 3:14-21

Sermon

Mary Austin

... advice, the thing I say is that you have to become a parent to the kid you actually get, instead of the one you planned on. But I see now that I didn’t really take in the work of that until my daughter Lucy fell into a years-long battle with depression. It’s her struggle, not mine, and she gave me permission to talk about it. I thought I knew how to be a reasonably effective parent. You know: the balance of love and structure, the importance of family, nurturing the talents the child has. There were ...

2739. Knowing, and Known

Romans 4:13-25

Sermon

John B. Jamison

... not practiced that much anymore. By the time the three men approached the old man’s tent, they had already passed a dozen others that did not wave or offer a cup. That was one of the things that may have impressed the visitors. We don’t know how long they actually stayed with the old man; if they stayed the three days or just finished their tea and conversation and went on their way. All we know is that as they prepared to leave, the visitors asked the old man about his family. He explained that it was ...

2740. A Parable in Mime

Luke 15:20-24

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

... boxes in a basket symbolizing “stuff.” Younger Son Clown goes skipping off and whistling a merry tune. Father Clown and Elder Son continue to work and then sit down (freeze). Back stage is a lot of commotion with loud music, laughter, and then a long silence. After some time groans, moans, and crying is heard off stage. Again there is silence. Background circus music is suspended. Father Clown looks off into the distance. He climbs up a ladder in order to see further. He wrings his hands. He is obvious ...

2741. 2 Boys at Doc's

Luke 15:25-32

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

... ? Envy Eczema? Don’t believe it. You made this up. Prove it. DOC: Oh yes, son, my diagnosis is accurate. Here’s my prescription: Follow this protocol. Like your brother – a definite change in lifestyle namely a change in attitude, perspective, a kinder heart, a long suffering patience and.... BROTHER ONE: Baloney! Forget it Doc. I am just fine the way I am. Send me the bill. All this just a waste of time. (stomps out) BROTHER TWO: Sorry Doctor about my brother’s behavior. Thanks for exam. I’ll do ...

2742. We're On the Move Now!

Sermon

Ronald Love

... that Jesus wanted to instill in his hearers when he said “As it was in the days of Noah…” Realizing Paul was offering us his opinion the days are long enough to be advocates for social justice. Realizing Paul was offering us his opinion the days are long enough so we can be activists for equality. Realizing Paul was offering us his opinion the days are long enough so we can be outspoken against oppression. But the days are too short for us not to be witnesses to the gospel message. March 25, 1965. The ...

2743. Fear of Flying

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... with a man in whom he detects a fearful spirit –an event that would keep people’s tongues wagging for a good long time! I want you to notice something else. While the members of the synagogue are wondering at what Jesus is doing, meanwhile, ... trust me, deep down, your fears know him and know the power he can wield in remaking your life. If you’ve been “hiding” in fear a long time, you may have lost touch with “who you are.” You may think that if you let go of your fear that you will lose your ...

2744. The Practice

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... But he has to prepare for that kind of rigor of spirit. Think of those who practice fencing. You don’t send someone out with sword in hand to “give it a shot” in a real stand off! You have them “train” for that endeavor, hard and long, facing all kinds of situations that they might incur. Jesus must also practice. He must know what to expect when he enters three years of extreme challenge. He must serve as a “soul whisperer” in a ring of a feisty, damaged, wild humanity. Yet, before the Spirit ...

2745. What Time Is It?

Matthew 24:32-44

Sermon

Will Willimon

... . Jesus had said that he was returning soon to reclaim the faithful. But where was he? The church had waited, and waited. By the time this Gospel was written the church had been waiting for maybe 75 or 80 years for the return of Christ, and that's a long time to stand on tiptoes. It's hard to maintain a sense of crisis for 80 years! Therein is the problem. ''There will always be a tomorrow,'' some must have said. After all, there have been about 29,000 tomorrows since Jesus told us that he would return for ...

2746. Prophets and the Powerful

1 Kings 21:1-3, 17-21

Sermon

Will Willimon

... me, “Don't worry about having a preacher run for President because, if he gets elected, he won't act like a preacher for long.” And you know, she's probably right. Because that's what power does to people. It changes them so that they think they can ... this expressway through your neighborhood.” “The government in Praetoria is only too willing to hold negotiations with you people -- as long as you agree to some basic terms first.” Beware of powerful people who are both powerful and polite, the story ...

2747.

Psalm 93:1-5

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... and his people at the temple. In sum, this psalm presents two things that are established (v. 2) or firm (v. 5) by virtue of Yahweh’s established throne (v. 2): the world and his “testimonies.” Verses 1–4 look especially toward the past, “long ago,” and verse 5 toward the future, for endless days. His creation and his word exhibit his stable rule. Additional Note 93:5 Holiness adorns your house: The MT’s naʾawâ is an odd form possibly meaning “befits” or “adorns.” We should perhaps ...

2748.

Psalm 112:1-10

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... that “in the meantime” he may not. The promise here is not for a cushy life but for one upheld by God. 112:10 The final verse drives home the fact that righteousness is the only means for obtaining ultimate satisfaction. The wicked will see their longings . . . come to nothing. We may infer from this psalm that one can argue for righteous conduct not only on the grounds that it is right but also on “selfish” grounds. The wicked, despite their complete freedom to choose whatever means to obtain their ...

2749. Fearful Times

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

Heather Entrekin

... death. Once, almost literally, when one leapt out of a half bushel of peaches we had just bought by a road side stand, I leapt out of the car into the road. Fear can do that. My sisters and brother didn't help. They enjoyed picking Daddy Long Legs up by a long leg and chasing me around the yard! Since then, my fears have grown up a little. Now I fear things that really can hurt me like the national debt, global warming, and crime. On top of these overwhelming world fears, each of us carries personal fears ...

2750. The Loaves

John 6:1-21

Sermon

David Coffin

... immersed in the unknown world or “Matrix” movie where one would learn they would rather prefer to live in the disillusioned world than that of seeing how this food was really prepared. However, I learned much about food hygiene, how to deal with bottlenecks of long lines of people, as well as waiting for food to be fully cooked and how to deal with people who have short tempers. I learned how to schedule workers on varying shifts as well as how to count and deposit money, receipts, and coupons. But ...

Showing results